


No Prince Charming

by DaydreamingofDragons



Category: Dragon Age: Inquisition
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Kidnapping, M/M, Rescue
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-04-09
Updated: 2016-04-09
Packaged: 2018-06-01 07:06:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,834
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6506491
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DaydreamingofDragons/pseuds/DaydreamingofDragons
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Dorian is captured by Venatori. Bull and Cadash worry and plot how best to kill them all</p>
            </blockquote>





	No Prince Charming

**Author's Note:**

> Crossposting from the KM, a fill for two prompts, the first of which contains spoilers, so links [here](http://dragonage-kink.livejournal.com/14614.html?thread=57898518) and [here](http://dragonage-kink.livejournal.com/15866.html?thread=60864250)

"Where do you think you're going?"

Bull froze. _Caught_. No point in someone his size trying to hide behind nothing. He turned back to where he had missed Cadash, sitting quietly in the shadows near the fire. Fixed him with a stare that dared him to ask the stupid question again.

Cadash had the grace to look away. "He'll be fine, Bull."

Bull bit of a choked laugh. "Yeah? That thing letting you see the future now?" He jerked his head towards Cadash's heavily gloved left hand. "You can't know that."

Cadash drew a deep breath then met his gaze squarely. "No, I can't. I know _Dorian_ though. Do you really think he'd let himself be taken out by some jumped up Venatori? Never going to happen."

No, Bull didn't think that was likely. But then, he had never thought that Dorian would have let himself be captured in the first place. Although 'let' was the wrong word considering the levels of destruction left behind at the ambush site.

"Bull!" Cadash barked and Bull jerked, suddenly realised he had one hand wrapped tightly around the haft of his axe. He thought he might have been growling too. Shit. He made himself let go.

"Sorry, Boss," he muttered and now he was the one who couldn't look at Cadash.

 "Get a grip, Bull! Fuck, you think running off by yourself in the dark's a good plan? And when you go and get yourself killed trying to rescue him, you think Dorian's just going to be okay with that? Are you really going to do that to him, Bull?" Cadash paused, breathing heavily. "Are you going to do that to me?" he finished, in a much quieter voice.

 Bull looked at him again, just to glare, although the expression was likely lost to the darkness. "That's a shitty low blow, Boss."

"Yeah, well. I am really fucking short."

That surprised a laugh from Bull, albeit a brief one. His shoulders sagged. “Fuck.”

“Yeah,” Cadash repeated. “Just a bit.”

Bull shook his head and took two steps back towards the fire. Clearly, he wasn’t going anywhere. Even if Cadash was inclined to let him (unlikely), he'd rather lost the will to walk away and leave Cadash there alone, watching after him.

Decision made, he tried to roll the tension out of his shoulders. Took deep breaths in and let them slowly out. It didn't help. Every instinct he had insisted he needed to move, to do something. He'd had the patience once, he knew. Remembered long days and nights of planning and waiting for the perfect moment. Couldn't quite remember how he had done it though. It felt a very long time ago. Shit, it _was_ a long time ago and a long way away. And he was sundered from it by a gulf a lot wider and darker than the years and miles and seas between him and Seheron. There wasn't a lot from that place he would ever wish back, but that calm patience was one thing.

Bull laughed again, without humour. "So what, I just go back to sleep, see you in the morning?" A good joke. He hadn't slept that night and wouldn't.

"There's always sitting staring into the campfire," Cadash replied. He looked up at Bull and shrugged. "I'm finding it a reasonable alternative."

Bull cursed himself. Of course, they were in an Inquisition camp, full of scouts just falling over themselves to please their Inquisitor. No need for Cadash to stand a watch and a damn crappy job he'd be doing of it if that was his aim anyway.

"You're welcome to join me," Cadash added.

Bull didn't answer, hesitating. But surely anything had to beat lying awake alone all night, fretting, or pacing around the camp winding everyone up. He slid his axe off his back and leaned it against the requisitions table, in easy reach if necessary, before settling down on the log next to Cadash.

Cadash shifted closer immediately, leaning into Bull before seeming to realise he might not welcome it and freezing. Bull closed his eye. _Shit, what a mess_. He lifted his arm, laid it over Cadash's shoulders and tugged him closer. Not quite into his lap - although Cadash would usually happily clamber up there, while Dorian watched them with something like yearning and would eventually let himself be coaxed into resting his head on Bull's arm - Bull cut off that train of thought ruthlessly as his chest ached with emptiness. Cadash was a warm presence against one side, but his other arm felt cold.

"He'll be alright," Cadash repeated. Bull clenched his fists against asking who he was trying to convince. And whether he was having any better luck that he was with Bull. "They didn't kill him. If they wanted him dead... They could have killed him."

_I thought they had_ . He was pretty sure Cadash had too, from how pale he had gone and how his hands had shaken when he'd gone to check the bodies. Bull had been frozen, useless. He understood now, when the Qun didn't allow this. The way concern for Dorian had left him unable to act, even though what was done was done and no action or inaction of his could change it. _Hissrad_. Was he meant not to lie to himself? Or to himself most of all?

He wished he could accept Cadash's lie now. But he knew the point of taking prisoners far too well. It was never his favourite tactic. Not really his job, in fact. But, well... Seheron. Sometimes you needed to know how to hurt someone until they told you what you wanted to know.

Dorian. Member of the Inquisitor's inner circle. His confidant. His lover. Whispers of that might have reached the Venatori. Even if they had not, the Venatori had to know he was of value. There was hope in the thought that Dorian still lived, but it’s a cup of sweet wine hiding poison. They won't kill him. They will hurt him.

"Bull?" Cadash's hand was resting on his knee, squeezing lightly. The dwarf was warm against his side. Solid and present. Bull tried to focus on him, something to cling to to save himself from drowning in fear and maybes. "Bull?" Cadash repeated, twisting to get a look at Bull's face. Firelight did him no favours that night, made him look old and tired. Worried. Bull frowned. Damn and here he was just adding to Cadash's problems.

"We'll get him back," Bull growled. Usually, he'd be careful about making promises he can't be certain he can keep. This one... one way or another he would keep it if it killed him.

"Damn right!" said Cadash, squeezing Bull's knee again. "Our scouts'll be back first thing. We'll find them and those fucking Tevinter bastards won't know what hit them!" He grinned up at Bull, wide and bloodthirsty. Bull felt himself echoing it. That was what he wanted: to do violence to anyone who even _thought_ about harming Dorian. They would be made to regret it.

**

They spotted the smoke long before they reached the camp. Too much for a campfire. The scout leading them faltered, uncertain.

They picked up their pace, by imperceptible degrees. By the time they were close enough to pick up the smoke on the air Cadash was practically jogging to keep up. Smoke - and Bull's nose could pick up blood beneath it and the strange not-quite smell of magic. Any faint hope he'd been harbouring of a mundane explanation died.

There were no Venatori guards on the path. No bodies, even. Bull frowned. Perhaps they had been lax and set no guards. The camp must have been well-hidden, before someone set fire to it. So, no guards. Then attacked by... bandits? Mercenaries? Adventurers? Local lawkeeping force? All possibilities. None of them likely to care much for the life of a single 'Vint among many. He knew it was the tension that had Seheron so present in his thoughts. Knowing that didn’t help. Didn’t stop him remembering the bodies of those unfortunate enough to be caught in a crossfire.

Cadash's face was unreadable, blank. He held his daggers ready but no-one showed themselves to use them on. Bull felt blank too. He clung to it, preferring it to the slowly growing horror that there might be no-one to fight. Nothing to do but make a methodical search until they found Dorian's body. Or didn’t find it, would that be worse? Yes. Yes, never knowing would be worse. Bull felt sick, swallowed and thought he might actually welcome madness, under those circumstances.

He shouldn't have waited. He cursed Cadash and bit his lip hard to stop himself saying it out loud. He should have come last night. The path approaching the camp was steep and narrow but, under cover of darkness, he might have made it. He should have tried.

"Shit!" Varric's hissed curse jerked Bull from his recriminations. "What happened?"

A very good question. The encampment was wrecked. The fires were starting to burn down, after what must have been a few hours. Smoke hung heavy in the air. Bodies. Everywhere. Fallen in groups and singly. Attackers and defenders, Bull supposed. Someone should go and check, try to piece together what happened. Probably, it should be him.

It was Vivienne who stepped forward, her face as impassive as usual, although her hand clenched too tight around her staff gave her away. She poked at the nearest corpse with her staff, pushed it onto its back and crouched down to study it.

Bull looked away, let his gaze wander randomly and unseeingly. Burning and destruction and the knowledge that he was too late and it’s no wonder Seheron won't fuck off back into the dark of his mind where it belongs. He might not mind, if it helped. But there's so secret to getting through this there. Last time he felt this shattered he'd let them finish the job and then piece him back together again. No-one to do that for him anymore.

"Inquisitor," Vivienne began - looking over her shoulder, eyebrows pulling together in the start of a frown - when Bull's entire world lurched sideways.

"Ah, there you are! I was wondering when you would show up."

_No_ . Bull gritted his teeth, reached for his axe as if there might be something to fight. That voice... too entirely the only one he wanted to hear to possibly be real. His mind was _cruel_ and he couldn't afford to believe the lie.

But Vivienne's frown had smoothed out and Varric was grinning, both of them looking somewhere beyond Bull. And Cadash... was gone with a yell of triumph.

Bull turned in time to see Cadash collide with Dorian, slapping his back and crowing. Dorian staggered back and slumped down onto a convenient rock but he was smiling and patting Cadash's shoulder and _alive_.

"There, there, Inquisitor. I'm sure you've been desolate without me but I assure you, I'm fine."

"Vivienne?" Cadash called. "Would you...?" He trailed off with a gesture at Dorian.

Bull's breath shuddered and he couldn't make himself stop staring as Vivienne brushed past him - sparing a second for a brief squeeze of his arm - to go to Dorian and cup his face in her hands.

"He's just fine," she announced shortly. "Nothing that won't be better taken care of back at camp."

"Yes, I did tell you that, didn't I?" Dorian said, and Bull found himself smiling at his peevishness. Still, he couldn't move until Vivienne nudged him firmly, a compassionate expression on her face as she gathered up Varric with a gesture and took him off to look around. She was a kind woman, when it suited her.

Ten strides took him to Dorian's side and Bull didn't think he had really believed Dorian was alright until he had his hands on him. One cupping his head, the other resting on his bare shoulder, ash smearing on Dorian's skin as Bull's thumb rubbed a soft circle there. He was somewhat surprised to see his hands weren’t shaking. They felt like they should be shaking.

He squeezed Dorian’s shoulder. Gentle, because up close it was clear that 'fine' was relative. Dorian looked worn. Bruised and dishevelled and breathing shallowly. Alive. Possibly the most beautiful thing Bull had ever seen.

"Hey, kadan," he breathed. Leaned down to take advantage of the privacy and press a quick kiss to Dorian's mouth. Cadash sighed in satisfaction and leaned into both of them. Reassurance, all round.

Bull broke the kiss reluctantly. Missed the feel of Dorian’s mouth as soon as they were apart. Stayed close enough that they breathed the same air for a handful of heartbeats. He’d been drowning and it was only with Dorian’s breath warm against his face that he felt like he could breathe again. He stroked Dorian’s face with two fingers, making an effort to fix the mess of his mustache. It didn’t do much good, but it made Dorian roll his eyes and smile, so Bull counted it as a win.

"You make all this mess?" asked Bull, his voice barely above a whisper, one hand still rubbing circles on Dorian’s shoulder.

Dorian sounded supremely pleased with himself. "Well, I had some help." He wriggled his fingers in helpful illustration. Bull could imagine. He'd become more familiar than he ever wanted to be with the way necromancy worked in battle; how quickly it evened the odds as soon as the enemy started taking losses. Not to mention the effect on morale when their one-time allies suddenly went for their throats. And it would never not be fucking creepy but Bull swore he would never say another word against it, if it had led to Dorian in his arms again, only a little the worse for wear.

Cadash laughed, low and pleased and no pity wasted for the Venatori. "Got bored waiting for us to come save your ass, huh?"

"An opportunity arose," Dorian replied. "It seemed a shame to waste it."

"All by yourself too," Cadash shook his head. "Damn. _Damn_ , Dorian, you're bloody magnificent, you know?"

Bull laughed at the wonder on Cadash's face. The heat in his eyes. If they had a little more privacy that might go somewhere interesting. Drown the remnants of the fear that wanted to make his hands shake and his breathing catch in his lovers' bodies. But he could do this too. Laugh at last night's and this morning's fear, because that was then and now Dorian was here and - relatively - fine.

"Ataashi," Bull agreed with Cadash, voice low.

Dorian sniffed. "Yes, well. As unlike myself as it is to turn down a compliment, I must say they were dreadfully amateurish kidnappers. The first rule of employing magebane: do make sure it doesn't wear off. An embarrassment to have been captured by, really."

Bull kept his face entirely neutral, hiding his amusement and his overwhelming relief. If Dorian was complaining about the quality of his capture, then he really was alright.

Cadash grinned broadly, no qualms about letting Dorian see his laughter. "Sure, we'll write a report. I bet Leliana could get it to Corypheus somehow. _Venatori not up to Dorian Pavus' exacting standards, suggestions for improvements to follow_. Marks out of ten?"

Dorian hummed, pretending to give the matter due thought. "Oh, no more than three. They are _dead_ , after all."

Bull couldn’t stop himself snorting at that, but he was saved from Dorian’s response by the return of Varric and Vivienne. “Damn, Sparkler, there was an actual landslide back there. That your work?”

“Oh, yes. I forgot about that!” Four incredulous stares were directed at Dorian and he shrugged, then grimaced as the movement aggravated some hurt. “There was a cave and well… long story short, Inquisitor, there may be some Venatori still alive in there, if you care to dig them out.”

“Hmmm,” replied Cadash, scratching at his beard. “You know, I think they can wait a while. Let’s get Dorian back to camp first.”

Bull couldn’t agree more. Before Dorian had the chance to do more than shift his weight, Bull scooped him up into his arms. Varric started coughing in a way that was surely meant to cover laughter. “Oh, _must you_?” Dorian sighed, clutching at Bull’s arm for balance.

“Yes,” Bull said, in a tone that left no room for arguments. He shifted Dorian to a more secure position and set off. Dorian sighed deeply and looked down at Cadash for support.

Cadash shrugged. “Hey, you deprived him of the chance to make a daring rescue. You’ll have to live with the consequences.”

Bull snorted. As if he gave a damn who’d done the rescuing. Dorian was safe. The rest was unimportant details.

“The sacrifices one must make,” Dorian groused, to resounding lack of sympathy. Bull couldn’t bring himself to take it very personally, not with the way Dorian relaxed against him and started idly stroking Bull’s arm as they walked.

**Author's Note:**

> I am also on tumblr [here](http://daydreamingofdragons.tumblr.com/)


End file.
